CHAPPiE

There are times that I really hope the mainstream critics are wrong, especially when a movie I'm anticipating begins to get mediocre to poor reviews.

I'll admit, I wasn't exactly blown away by the trailers for CHAPPiE at any point during its marketing, nor did I really get the urge that it seemed like a story worth telling. I remember many months ago hearing about director, Neill Blomkamp, creating a "comedy" called CHAPPiE and that seemed interesting to me -- Blomkamp is pretty much a sci-fi/action director.

But even still, when you love a director's first two films (and yes I loved Elysium, get over it), you tend to be excited about really anything that he touches, hence my borderline disbelief when a couple 0-score reviews started coming in. For the record, CHAPPiE isn't 0-score bad...not by a long shot (did that critic not see Hot Tub Time Machine 2?), but there are several criticisms out there that CHAPPiE is deserving of. It's truly unfortunate, but honestly not unexpected that, out of Blomkamp's three films so far, CHAPPiE is the "worst".

Anybody got a name for that haircut? It's horrendous

You know what that gun color is good for?
Getting you spotted by the enemy

I'll start with my biggest complaint and I think it's one that really kills the movie before it has a chance to get started. As a forewarning, I'm not a fan of South African rap group Die Antwoord, so I apologize to any of their fans who may be reading. Point blank: they ruin the film. Not their acting mind you -- that's surprisingly decent, but more so their involvement. In a film that has stars like Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman, Sharlto Copley, and arguably Dev Patel, it just seems so odd to have these real life characters with Ninja and Yolandi (the members of the rap group and also their names in the film) in this movie with such heavy hitters. Over the course of the film, with their incredibly annoying music playing in the background, I couldn't help but feel like part of this film was one big, awkward product placement for Die Antwoord. Not in a million years would I have taken the themes/ideas/characters in CHAPPiE and presented them in this way: through the plot of having the robot become a "gangsta" to learn about his consciousness. Some may call it unique, but that doesn't make it a good decision and it's a creative choice of plot development that I seriously questioned, especially coming from the guy who gave us District 9 and Elysium. If I had to generate a hypothesis, I would say that the film, with Die Antwoord attached, started off as a strict comedy, as was reported months ago. Somewhere along the line, either studio executives or Blomkamp himself, decided to make the film more serious and focused on the science fiction aspects to keep in line with what Blomkamp was proven at. That's a fairly dramatic change for a film to go through and I'm not sure the creative decisions that were originally pitched made the complete transition with the rest of the film. What we are left with is a film that looks like a Blomkamp sci-fi, one that sounds like a Blomkamp sci-fi, but, until the final 30 minutes, doesn't feel like a Blomkamp sci-fi.

Another odd creative decision: why did Jackman
have to have a mullet?

Creative decisions aside, CHAPPiE also lacks something else that is often present in Blomkamp's films (particularly District 9): originality. While CHAPPiE is certainly unique, it's more unique in the sense that it feels like a bunch of films we've previously seen combined together. By the purest definition, it's something that, no, we haven't seen before but at the same time, it truly feels like we have. None of this would really matter if CHAPPiE built to something over the course of its run time, but it truly feels like an aimless film until some final revelations are unveiled, giving it a concrete purpose. It's just unfortunate that these don't appear until the final half hour.
 

I bet the dog thought Chappie was a rabbit with
those ears

At this point, I feel kind of bad because I've been harping on CHAPPiE pretty hard. Truth be told, it does have its bright spots. For starters, the performances, while not challenging in the slightest, are solid. Jackman makes a fun, if somewhat dull villain and Dev Patel is likable and it's good to see him out of his typecast films. As always in a Blomkamp film, Copley as Chappie is fantastic both in motion capture and voice work. That being said, the digitation of Copley's thick South African accent made Chappie very hard to understand at times and there were a few lines that I couldn't decipher at all.

Also as is the case with Blomkamp's films, the production values are stellar. I've seen several critics arguing that production value doesn't count for much -- but I completely disagree. In the case of CHAPPiE they take a poor/average film and make it better, even if only by a bit. Blomkamp has a style that is very distinct, especially with action scenes, and it's often exquisite. He knows his way around camera angles, slow motion, etc. to create memorable scenes. He and his team are also a master of sound design and editing and CHAPPiE is no exception. And speaking of sound, Hans Zimmer turns in another awesome, mostly electronic original score that was probably my favorite aspect of the film.

Chappie: bringing knives to tank fights since 2016

I wanted the critics to be wrong about CHAPPiE, I really did. And honestly, a few of the harsher ones are. There is value in the film, it's just greatly overshadowed by some massively odd creative decision making that feels really out of the norm for Blomkamp. As such, the film ends up representing what could have been another strong sci-fi notch in the director's belt, but ends up being disappointing because of the story that we got, rather than the story we deserved.

CONS:

• Some truly odd creative decisions, mainly the inclusion and focus on the rap group Die Antwoord. The plot method through which Chappie grows up and becomes sentient seems like nothing more than a prolonged advertisement for the group
• We've seen most of this film before, just not combined like it is
• The film's tone and script seem stuck in a place between the comedy that it was originally supposed to be and the type of film's that Blomkamp usually makes
• Ridiculous hairdoos
• Hard to understand what Chappie is saying sometimes
• Honestly? Not nearly as many action scenes as I would have liked/anticipated
• For most of the runtime, it feels like CHAPPiE isn't striving for any greater purpose; it lacks an "endgame". It makes much of the film feel aimless

PROS:

• Fun cast who gives good performances. Copley is really great as Chappie
• The final 30 minutes have a fantastic action sequence, and they have a drive and sci-fi element that truly feels like a Blomkamp film
• Amazing special effects, especially considering the relatively low budget
• Strong sound design
• Great camera work and action filming, as usual
• Hans Zimmer's original score is another hit

Rath's Review Score: 6/10